RE:M-H Tanks/Racine

Great pictures John!!

The fellas in the first picture must have been lower pay as they are all in bib overalls and the people in the second picture (installing the fans) have nice white suits with the Massey Harris name on them.

I just happen to have one of them patches possibly from the Tank crew?? Hopefully it is because I believe it is the only thing other than the tank bag I got off ebay that I could ever afford as fars Tanks go....

RE:M-H Tanks/Racine

Joe,

That's a neat little tag - I must look in my tank bag to see if I got one too. Never opened it.

I found a tank over here recently in full working order and used at re-enactments. There were two problems though. Firstly, the chap couldn't positively confirm that it was made by M-H and not Cadillac - in fact he doesn't know how to tell who made them and this is a nut that I haven't yet cracked. It would be folly to purchase a non M-H tank even though they are precisely the same as the Cadillac made ones. I wouldn't want a Cadillac sitting in my M-H collection. Over here we call them "caddys" which can also mean a small box for keeping your loose tea leaves in!

The second problem was price. £220,000 = about 341,000 dollars. But it is a very nice one, one of only four in the UK and I have my tank consortium members thinking about it. We live in hope. It would be a pity to miss it and it was ono (or near offer) so could maybe get it down a bit. They say it would be a help if a decent quantity of ammunition came with a deal as quite a few of them have issues with politicians and local officials!!

Thanks also for your congratulations the other day on reaching 200 contributions - we try to do our best but I see that M-H in the east has now jumped into the lead! He must have nothing to do in this bitter cold spell we are experiencing!

RE:M-H Tanks/Racine

Tonight's two shots are:

- firstly a couple inside the factory showing finished tanks and one under inspection

- secondly the 25 foot boring mill at the M-H tank plant which was one of the huge machines used in the manufacture of the M-H M44 155mm self propelled howitzers. Such macines cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in their day and required massive concrete foundations to support them. It is dated 1954. The M44s weighed in at well over 30 tons.

RE:M-H Tanks/Racine

To the guts of the tanks tonight - fitting the Cadillac engines into M5 tanks. Beefy things two per tank. V8s of 148 gross engine hp per engine at 3200 rpm giving a maximum level road speed of 36mph. Bet they really sounded smooth - quite a jump up from the old Wallis style tractor engines and even the Continental engines that had come in by this time - and of course some Chrysler engines were also used in the war time tractors

RE:M-H Tanks/Racine

So are the tanks in the barn M5 Suarts? And the Caddies being installed in the Chaffees?? I think I am starting to see their differences!! Great pics!!

You make me cry looking at all these tanks!! Would it not be the greatest experience to take one of these things through a tractor parade some time!! What an opportunity!! When you get yours John, I definitely want to drive it. That thing would climb right over all those stone fences!!

RE:M-H Tanks/Racine

I believe that you are correct on both counts Gary as far as I can tell from the photos. The back row I am uncertain of but they look the same size as the Stuarts at the front.

Yes indeed it would be a tremendous experience to either (preferably) own one or drive one! To have one of those parked with MH tractors in the shed and one of the old M-H factory water towers outside would be a dream come true - we must continue dreaming on!!! Dreams have a habit of coming true with a modicum of luck.

Nice to have an M-H windmill too to fill the water tank?? Has anyone ever identified one of these standing around on farms in Canada or the US?? Another search neede by MCA mambers far and wide please. What manufacturers or MH plates did these have on them?

RE:M-H Tanks/Racine

Rick,

I share your enthusiasm for the Massey-Harris tank story so I will carry on despite there not being too much interest. Frankly I am surprised at this because the
M-H tanks are as much a part of Massey history as the iodine swabs marketed by them up in Canada. It's all a part of the great Massey history and there to be cherished and researched

Tonight a "worm's eye" view through a tank's tracks and beyond. Note the self locking nuts on the track bolts and the wire locking the castle nut on the axle. Also the rather crude "ratchet" on theaxle frame for locking the tightened track rear wheel in position.

The second shows the relatively tight fit for (I presume) the driver. Must have been hell in there in action........